Aaron Rashun Byers has outstanding warrants for his arrest, and law enforcement officers are still searching for the 18-year-old.

Gang problem in Cleveland County?

Although gang activity is nothing new in Cleveland County, it’s an issue law enforcement has shied away from discussing in the past. Norman said a gang is defined as “a group of three or more persons who have a common identifying sign, symbol or name and whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal activity, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation within the community.”

“There’s been a gang problem for quite some time within Shelby and Cleveland County,” Norman said. “It was not recognized or no one wanted to acknowledge it in the past.”

He described the gangs in the county as “loose-knit criminals.”

Normansaid the issue of gangs in the county needs to be addressed before it becomes more serious.

He compared gangs to a cancer that continues to grow if left unchecked.

“This is becoming a growing problem for the greater Cleveland County area,” Norman said. “If it’s not addressed or addressed in a proper manner, we’re going to see more and more of it because of our close proximity to metropolitan areas of Charlotte and Gastonia.”

He said “thugs” have no regard for someone else’s property or for other human beings.

“These individuals are capable of doing anything,” Norman said. “Any time if you have one gang member, regardless of what gang he’s actually a member of, if they’re involved in criminal wrong-doing or misconduct, that’s one gang member too many for Cleveland County.”

Criminal activity

Normansaid the sheriff’s office dealt with members of the Bloods late last summer.

He said in both last year and this year’s case, the members were kicking in the doors of homes around the county during the daytime hours when the owners weren’t home.

He said in the most recent case, the sheriff’s office executed search warrants and were able to recover some of the stolen property.

The value of the items was estimated to be in the thousands of dollars.

Normansaid the group charged in the recent home break-ins could be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“My hat’s off to the employees here … for bringing four of these five to face justice in a rapid manner and being able to clear this many break-ins and recover some stolen property,” he said.

Education, stern law enforcement and prosecuting people to the fullest extent possible will go a long way in attempting to rid the county of gang members, he said.

‘We have to deal with it and mitigate it’

Shelby Police Chief Jeff Ledford said gangs have been becoming more prevalent statewide in the past two years.

In the city of Shelby, he said, there are basically two main gangs — the Bloods and the Crips — with numerous hybrid groups springing up called “sets.”

“If we don’t get ahead of it, it’s going to pose a bigger problem,” Ledford said.

He said the Shelby Police problem-solving unit conducts gang investigations. A violent crimes coordinator tracks gang activity, crimes that may be gang-related, and validates whether a group is in fact a gang.

Ledford said there is a check sheet that helps law enforcement identify the authenticity of a gang member.

The criteria include insignias, tattoos, hand signs, self-admission and association with known gangs.

Shelby Police Capt. Steve Canipe said gangs pose a potential for violence in public places and also have to have a way to support themselves, typically through criminal activity, such as breaking into homes or businesses.

“It’s here, so now we have to deal with it and mitigate it,” Ledford said. “Everyone working together sends the message that we’re not going to have this in our city and county.”

The department also networks and shares information on gangs with other agencies outside the department’s jurisdiction.

‘It’s their surrogate family’

Canipe said most of the people who are gang-affiliated in Shelby range in age from late teens to early 20s. He said, in many cases, young people get involved for the sense of belonging.

“It’s their surrogate family,” he said.

In the past few years, Ledford said, the focus of gang involvement has shifted from a specific purpose and territory to a sense of camaraderie.

He said the issue is being talked about more now and police are getting out and building relationships in the community.

“Being open to talking about it is better than turning a blind eye,” he said.

Reach reporter Rebecca Clark at 704-669-3344 or rclark@shelbystar.com or follow on Twitter @TheStarRebecca.